The Turkish coastguard conducted an unprecedented operation to seize 13 tons of marijuana in powdered form from a Bolivia-registered ship off the Libyan port of Tobruk, the interior ministry said Wednesday.

Turkish coastguards followed the Bolivian vessel with a plane and a ship after receiving a tip-off, Turkish official media said, quoting the interior ministry.

The U.N.'s envoy for Libya held talks in Tripoli Friday, seeking to encourage the administration there to commit to a national unity government that would end years of bloodshed.

Martin Kobler, on a desperate diplomatic push to get Libya's two separate administrations to sign a power-sharing agreement, met Thursday with representatives of the internationally-recognized government near its headquarters in the east of the country.

On the outskirts of Libya's capital, Imad wipes the dirt from the tombstone of his brother, one of hundreds of migrants whose journey ended in the "cemetery of the unknown".

No name is marked on the grave, but at least it has a date, and with the help of the Libyan Red Crescent, 29-year-old Tunisian Imad ben Salem is now certain this is the burial place of his younger brother, Qabil, 25.

In the capital of war-torn Libya, a dwindling Christian community of foreign workers leave their fears and anxieties at the church door as they gather for Christmas carols and laughter.

Lisa, a 47-year-old Filipina nurse, said she had just celebrated the festival of lights "for the tenth consecutive year" at Saint Francis Church, referring to the start of advent and the Christmas season.

Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi on Wednesday dismissed a Syrian request for the handing over of Hannibal Moammar Gadhafi, who was taken into custody Friday in Lebanon after a brief abduction at the hands of an armed group.

Syrian authorities had demanded earlier in the day that Gadhafi be handed over through an official request, explaining that he had been granted political asylum in Syria.

The son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, Hannibal, will remain held in Lebanon until authorities receive a response from Interpol about him, reported the daily An Nahar.

General Prosecutor Judge Samir Hammoud told the daily that Lebanon can go ahead and continue investigations with him based on the arrest warrant issued against him on Monday.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday that the Islamic State group was spreading from its stronghold on the Libyan coast to the interior of the country with the aim of getting access to oil wells.

"They are in Sirte, their territory extends 250 kilometers (155 miles) along the coast, but they are starting to penetrate the interior and to be tempted by access to oil wells and reserves," Le Drian told RTL radio.

A U.S. and Italy-led coalition of world powers and regional players on Sunday urged Libya's warring factions to lay down their weapons and back a new national unity government under a U.N. peace plan due to be signed on Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was among ministers and officials from 17 countries who, along with the U.N., the EU and the Arab league, called for an immediate ceasefire across Libya.

Libya's rival parliaments will next week sign a U.N.-sponsored agreement on forming a national unity government, they announced Friday, as world leaders press them to end chaos in the country.

Salah el-Makhzoum, a vice president of the Tripoli-based parliament, called this a "happy day" in announcing that "the political accord will be signed on December 16."

Tunisia has reopened its border with Libya, 15 days after it shut the frontier following a suicide bombing in Tunis claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, the interior ministry said Friday.

"The border with Libya was opened Thursday at midnight," ministry spokesman Walid Louguini told AFP.